It is very clear that Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and others in the leadership of the US government did NOT carefully plan the attack on Iran.
They allowed the inexperienced real estate developers, Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law) and Steve Witkoff, to make judgments on the seriousness, or supposed lack of it, of the Iranian diplomats they were negotiating with.
They failed to consider that Iran could block the Strait of Hormuz, creating an international crisis regarding oil and gasoline supplies, particularly causing harm to Asian allies, but also causing the greatest gasoline price crisis in many years for consumers in the United States. The entire international economy is affected by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
They failed to understand that when a nation is bombed, and mass casualities occur, it only stiffens the spine of that nation, as proved regularly in war, such as the Nazi bombing of the United Kingdom in World War II and the Al Qaeda September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States.
It promotes nationalism, including even those who might oppose the particular government in any nation, but there is the “rallying around the flag” mentality.
They failed to understand that if one kills the top leader, no matter how much he might be hated by many, it only makes the next leader, particularly if related to the same family, even more willing to resist.
So we have the example that Ayatollah Khamenei was replaced by his son, and his son not only lost his father, but also his mother, his wife, and his son. So what would make one consider that the new Ayatollah would be willing to negotiate after such a heavy personal loss?
What Donald Trump and his top advisers have done is create a nightmare scenario, which now includes the strong likelihood that there will be terrorist attacks around the world, and particularly in the United States.
Desire for revenge will endanger all Americans, and particularly, the Jewish community, due to the alliance between Israel and the US on this decision to attack Iran.
Already, on Thursday, we saw attacks by terrorists on Virginia Commonwealth University and a Reform Jewish synagogue in Michigan, and more such threats are likely to occur.
But the answer is not to promote discrimination against Muslim Americans, just because some of their religious beliefs engage in terrorism.
Another horrendous reality is that civilian targets are being attacked, causing the deaths already of close to 200 children in Teheran, as well as attacks on historic and World Heritage sites that were never targets in past military conflicts.
So the long range implications of the Iran War are dire, to say the least!